Former teacher of Kyiv university suspected of high treason posts photo of herself with Russian tricolour on background
Yevheniia Bilchenko, a former professor of the Mykhailo Drahomanov National Pedagogical University who is suspected of treason, has posted a photo of herself with an assault rifle in front of a Russian flag, thus openly supporting Russia's war against Ukraine.
Yevheniia Bilchenko, a former professor of the Mykhailo Drahomanov National Pedagogical University who is suspected of treason, has posted a photo of herself with an assault rifle in front of a Russian flag, thus openly supporting Russia's war against Ukraine.
Yevheniia Bilchenko, a former teacher at the Drahomanov National Pedagogical University and professor of cultural studies, was charged with treason and recruitment of collaborators in August 2022.
Nowadays, the former teacher clearly expresses her pro-Kremlin position on her Telegram channel. For example, she visited the temporarily Russian-occupied city of Melitopol on 3 October, claiming she was "severely hurt by Ukraine".
"The symptoms of PTSD came out, but I coped. We visited the street of Dasha Dugina (the deceased daughter of Russian ideologue Alexander Dugin – ed.) It's nice. There is a trace of the [Ukrainian] language everywhere: on the radio, in inscriptions, on TV... Even cafes play songs about the Ukrainian Armed Forces. No one is jamming it," Bilchenko said.
Furthermore, she actually admits in one of her posts that she "waged an underground campaign against Ukraine":
"What have I been doing for 'these nine years'? I was doing something that no one gives a sh*t about now, and, frankly, I don't either. Three of them were crazy, and for the other six years, I waged an underground movement against Ukraine in complete isolation, without support, without being injected with glory and honours; despite everything, thank God, I earned the high treason, which is what I wish for others. What else can I say... I serve the people of Russia".
Bilchenko also said she has been living in Russia for two years and has "no regrets".
It bears mentioning that the former professor of the capital's university had expressed an anti-Ukrainian stance even before the full-scale Russian invasion. For instance, the professor of cultural studies called Ukraine an "American colony" in early 2021.
She also claimed that the law "On ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as the state language" was "a swollen lymph node in a sick body". Her university called such remarks unacceptable. A few weeks later, she was suspended from teaching, and her lectures were reviewed, which turned out to be "saturated with hate speech".
Ukrainian academics have reacted to Bilchenko's photo. In particular, Svitlana Vovk, coordinator of the anti-plagiarism initiative Dissergate, suggests that Bilchenko be stripped of her academic degrees and titles and that the draft Law on Academic Integrity be amended to include academic responsibility for collaborators.
"The main issue is Bilchenko's liability for collaboration, particularly to the scientific and educational community," she notes.
The artist Lesia Roi pointed out that a jacket bearing Ukrainian camouflage was visible in the corner of the photo and suggested that Bilchenko was "roaming the fields looking for mines".
Film critic Ihor Kromf is of the opinion that the trial over the collaborator will not have the expected effect.
"But the court I would like to see (I'm ready to pay for the stream) is over all those functionaries-professors from my alma mater who knew perfectly well that Yevheniia was friends with Major Zakhar Prilepin of the 'DPR (Russian-backed "Donetsk People's Republic") special forces' and referred to him as the 'new Bernard Shaw'. Everybody has been aware of this since 2016-2017. And they supported her. And they issued merit certificates. They even nominated her for a scholarship either of the Ukrainian parliament or the Cabinet of Ministers," he adds.
Olha Krychynska, a volunteer and PhD candidate in art history, also stated earlier that the university had covered up the collaborative activities of its former lecturer.
"I imagine how many such Yevheniias are still inside the walls of Ukrainian universities," she added.
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